"Teacher."
After seeing Ares appear, Heracles obediently put away the divine sword, and Artemis and Apollo, after some thought, also put away their bows and arrows.
"Ares." Artemis pointed at Heracles and asked Ares, "Do you know this mortal?"
"I do, but he's not a mortal. He's our half-brother," Ares replied. "His name is Heracles, and he will be a glorious member of Olympus in the future. Artemis, can you give him some face this time, considering our relationship?"
Artemis frowned, looked back at her brother Apollo, and then asked, "Are his trials really Zeus's oracle?"
"Yes." Apollo nodded. "I sent him that oracle through the Temple of Delphi."
"Hmm..." Artemis frowned and considered for a long time, then reluctantly said to Heracles, "Then go. Remember to heal my deer. If it comes back and something bad happens to it, I'll hold you accountable."
"Goddess, thank you for your generosity." Heracles also promised, "If this hind does not return safely, I will send you Eurystheus's head."
"Hmm, did that guy just casually make a promise using someone else's most important possession?"
Ares muttered to himself, but he didn't stop Heracles from doing so. In the treacherous Greek World of the God Era, being a bit ruthless was a good thing.
After agreeing, Heracles left with the red hind, while Ares stayed behind to continue conversing with Artemis and her brother.
Ares noticed that Artemis, who was usually very talkative, seemed to be in low spirits today, and Apollo next to her was also silent. The close siblings seemed to be in a very awkward atmosphere, as if they had a disagreement.
So he asked Artemis, "Artemis, you're not yourself today. Why were you ready to fight Heracles right away? Do you have something on your mind?"
"Sigh, it's nothing big." Artemis waved her hand listlessly and replied to Ares, "I'm just in a bad mood today."
Seeing that she didn't want to say more, Ares didn't give up, because he knew Artemis wasn't speaking only because the atmosphere wasn't right. So he took a step forward and continued to press her:
"Tell me. We're all siblings. If there's any obstacle you can't overcome, let's think of a way to help you through it. It's not good to always have a long face and get into conflicts with everyone. Look at today, if I hadn't stopped you two, you two would have definitely gotten a beating from Heracles."
"Just that mortal?" Artemis clearly hadn't done her homework and didn't know who Heracles was. Although she was one of the Olympus Twelve Main Gods, she spent all her time hunting and wandering in the mountains and forests. Except for the feasts of the gods, she basically kept company with wild beasts.
"I told you before, he's not a mortal, but a Zeus's son like us. And he's drunk Hera's milk, so he's long since shed his human form, unlike other demigods and lesser deities," Ares warned Artemis. "He just beat Poseidon in Athens. Although Poseidon was embarrassed, do you think you're stronger than our second uncle?"
Artemis was speechless. Although she was considered one of the more difficult to provoke among the Olympus Twelve Main Gods, that was because she had many brothers, not because she herself was very strong.
Although she was stronger than Aphrodite, Demeter, Hermes, and other main gods who focused on non-combat divine duties, she was far inferior to Athena, Ares, and other front-line combat deities.
Moreover, if calculated according to the future class classification of this world, Artemis was actually a rather incompetent archer. The gods around her who could shoot arrows, from Ares to Athena to Heracles, were basically capable of being snipers when holding a bow, and fearless of any enemy in close combat when throwing away the bow. Even her brother Apollo could be a 'King of Fighters' after throwing away his bow, but Artemis herself would lose basically eighty percent of her combat power if she threw away her bow.
She was a pure ranged ADC, but just now she dared to approach Heracles, the top laner father who had already developed into a god, with her bow raised. If a fight really broke out, she probably wouldn't even know how she died.
After Ares explained it, Artemis also realized how dangerous her actions just now were. She looked at Ares with lingering fear, then said gratefully, "Thank you, brother, you saved me again."
"You're welcome, we're siblings." Ares glanced at Apollo, then asked, "So, can you tell me what exactly happened? You and Apollo always have such long faces, walking around together all day without speaking. It's really annoying. Who are you giving the silent treatment to?"
Ares's words were a bit harsh, but they fit his character. Therefore, Artemis and Apollo's faces only showed a hint of embarrassment. Artemis whispered:
"Actually, it's because I think I've fallen in love recently..."
"Huh? In love?" Ares exclaimed, "Sister, aren't you a virgin goddess?"
"Oh, I'm not like you and Athena, swearing to the Inhibitory Force." Artemis cupped her face and said shyly, "I swore by Zeus's thunder, so I can go back on it. When the time comes, I'll talk to Zeus, and Zeus will definitely agree to let me break the oath. Besides, who says a virgin goddess can't fall in love?"
"A virgin goddess falling in love..." Ares smacked his lips in wonder and asked, "Don't you get intimate?"
"Intimate?" Artemis replied, "Between lovers, isn't holding hands enough?"
"Hmm, you're only suitable for finding a monk to fall in love with after the God Era barrier ends."
Ares said this in his heart, and also said aloud, "Sister, no, Artemis, look at the world right now. Is there any man who doesn't try to possess a woman's body during a romantic relationship? Ask your brother Apollo next to you, would he fall in love with a woman who only allows hand-holding?"
"Yes." Seeing his sister looking at him, the sister-complex Apollo agreed without hesitation.
"Stop spouting nonsense! Your son Asclepius is already 1.7 meters tall!" Ares snapped impatiently, "If you don't want to harm your sister, shut up!"
Apollo then closed his mouth, and Artemis said innocently to Ares, "You said Apollo isn't, then he's indeed not, but aren't you? The eternal virgin god, if you were to fall in love, it would definitely be a spiritual love."
"Do you think I want to be this virgin god!"
Ares felt his balls ache from being angered by this girl Artemis, but he still composed himself and shook his head, "This is different. I am bound, with an oath as a shackles, but your other half does not. Artemis, you must understand that the union of male and female, , is not only human desire but also heavenly principle. Incomplete couples lack physical intimacy. You are now in the throes of passion, so you might overlook this, but as time passes and emotions settle, without a deeper foundation, he will surely betray you and seek other women."
"No, he won't." Artemis said with a smile, "Who says I didn't put shackles on him? I also cursed him in the name of Artemis."
"What curse did you put on him?" Ares asked.
"If he dares to cheat." Artemis chuckled softly, twirling a strand of her hair, "Then no matter where he flees, the Moon Goddess's arrows will accurately pierce the root of his sin."
As Artemis said this, Ares saw Apollo's body next to her suddenly tremble, and he immediately understood what the so-called "root of sin" referred to.
So, although he had already vaguely confirmed the man's identity in his heart, he asked Artemis with a hint of pity:
"So, who is this man fortunate enough to have caught your eye?"
"His name is Orion, you know." Artemis smiled like a lovesick girl. "He's a child from our second uncle's family."